Grants Pass
October 20, 2012
Weekend
75 cents
Weather
A mixed bag Revealing the
We will see
quite a mix of
weather over
the weekend,
dark world of
with a little bit of sun, clouds
and a few sprinkles. See
Page 2A.
heroin addicts
Overnight low 48
Sundays high 56 Mom didnt find out about her
sons drug use until it was too late
Whats inside
By Shaun Hall
Make a difference of the Daily Courier
Help Two years ago, former Grants Pass
High School student Christopher Bales,
make a 21, was doing well at Portland State Uni-
difference
versity. But he was doing terribly with
by taking
his heroin addiction.
part in one
Some of his friends knew he used, but
of the his mother didnt.
many He often spoke with contempt of the
communi- heroin addicts that he encountered in his
ty service projects across the life in Portland, said Bales mother,
local attorney Rebecca Peterson. He
country. did things I would have thought incom-
USA WEEKEND / Inside patible with that kind of problem.
Bales rode his bicycle all over the
city. He maintained a five-year relation-
ship with his girlfriend, who didnt use
drugs.
Then came the day officers came to
Petersons office with the news her son had
died of an overdose. Prescription drugs
and heroin were found in his system.
Help with grief
Lovejoy Hospices grief
By the numbers
counselor has some advice
and resources as the holi- 5 Number of heroin drug cases
prosecuted in 2010 in Josephine
County.
days approach, a difficult
time for those who have lost
a loved one. 22 Number of heroin drug cases
prosecuted so far this year in
Josephine County.
Page 9A
Cavemen stumble 10 Percent of Grants Pass High
School juniors who said they used
prescription drugs without a prescription in
The Rose- the previous month.
burg High
football Sources: Josephine County District Attor-
neys Office; 2012 Oregon Student Well-
team ness Survey, Grants Pass School District
showed this No. 7.
isnt a
down year
for the Indi-
We had no idea he was using heroin
ans with a 37-22 victory or had ever used it, Peterson said.
against Grants Pass. None of his friends who knew saw fit to
tell us.
SPORTS / Page 1B
Piecing together the contents of his
room and things we have now been told,
it is clear that it had already affected his
World premiere life terribly, she continued. It had
Check out the become the focus of his life, had impact-
review of the
premiere of a
ed his relationships and made him finan-
cially desperate.
Since that day in March 2010, Peter-
new comedy
son has spoken out publicly at a local
at Barnstorm-
drug abuse forum and before the Oregon
ers Theatre
Legislature, in support of a measure to
about mob-
force repeat heroin abusers into treat-
ster Al Capone investing in a ment.
theater production.
Local officials say heroin use is on
ENTERTAINMENT / Page 5B
the rise. They believe the increase is
related to increasing abuse of opiate-
Whats online based prescription painkillers such as
Vicodin, Percocet and oxycodone. Users
become addicted to the pills, then switch
Football video to lower-cost heroin.
See video and photos of the
The trend has been a very, very
marked increase in prescribed opiod
Grants Pass High football abuse, said Jim Shames, health officer
team taking on Roseburg, for Josephine and Jackson counties, and
today at ... the director of a Medford methadone clin-
ic that treats heroin addicts. It becomes
thedailycourier.com very expensive to relieve your cravings
with pills. Heroin is quite a bit cheaper.
The difference might be $75 to $150 a
A look ahead day for pills, versus $40 to $60 daily for
heroin, said Shames, whose methadone
clinic serves about 550 clients.
A significant number of them come
from Josephine County, he said. Every
week, I meet a new batch and I hear their
stories. Most recently, Ive seen young
people shifting from pills to heroin.
Earlier this year, Shames was hon-
ored as doctor of the year by the Oregon
Medical Association, for bringing atten-
Fish tales tion to the problem of prescription drug
abuse. A county forum he headed devel-
A charitable organization oped a five-step procedure for doctors to
helped veterans experience follow in order to help avoid abuse by
a guided fishing trip on the patients. The procedures include drug
testing, a risk screening and a docu-
Rogue River. mented physical problem before pain-
MONDAY
Where to find it
Abby . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10A
Classified . . . . . . . . .6-10B
Shoppers flock to opening of Trader Joes
Entertainment . . . . . . . .5B By Greg Stiles
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . .5A of the (Medford) Mail Tribune
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . .4A Longtime Trader Joes
Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3A
shoppers and dozens getting
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . .1-3B
their first look at what the spe-
cialty grocer is all about lined
Call us at 541-474-3700
up for Friday mornings open-
email news@thedailycourier.com ing at the Northgate Centre
Marketplace in Medford.
Volume CIII Ive been waiting for years
No. 29 Issue 30972 and years, said Cheri OCon-
2 Sections, 20 Pages nor of Central Point. This is a
happy moment. OConnor
showed up with her friend Kim
Backes of White City, who fre-
quented Trade Joes in Sacra-
mento 20 or 25 years ago.
Weve been doing the online
voting for them to come here
for years, OConnor said. We Courtney Thomas gets into the spirit of the moment
always wrote in they needed to as Trader Joes opens for business.
HAMP/Y
OR
Approx. K CROSS GILT
6 mon PIG.
Call 541- ths old. $225.
592-5471
This amount of Candidates
heroin, 6 grams,
sells for about
$1,100, accord-
are working
harder for
ing to H. Ray
Myers, a Grants
Pass police donations in
detective
assigned to the
Rogue Area Drug
Enforcement
this election
By Stacy D. Stumbo
team. A heavy of the Daily Courier
user might use a Candidates for Josephine
gram a day. County commissioner know
firsthand that signs, advertise-
ments and brochures dont
come cheap.
Collectively, Position 2 can-
didates Keith Heck and Toni
Webb and Position 3 candi-
dates Cherryl Walker and Bob
Just have raised almost $49,000
in cash, plus more in in-kind
donations and loans, in their
campaigns for the Nov. 6 elec-
tion.
Radio personality Justs
campaign committee, Friends
of Bob Just, leads the pack. It
has raised $22,637 in cash con-
tributions and $5,013 in in-kind
donations, according to the
Oregon Elections Division.
The numbers may seem
large, but they dont come
close to the $53,365 raised by
Commissioner Simon Hare dur-
ing his successful bid to unseat
incumbent Dave Toler in 2010.
Large, individual donors to
Justs campaign include
Grants Pass resident Marilyn
Bruner, who gave $2,000. Jim
R. Brumbach gave $1,000, Lisa
Keller contributed $1,000, and
David Brumbach gave $1,000.
The committee received a
$2,000 contribution from Grants
Pass land management compa-
ny Indian Hill.
The Daily Courier tried to
contact some of Justs donors
for this story, but calls were
not returned by deadline.
Walkers BCC3 Committee
has raised $16,874 in cash dona-
tions, $1,249 in in-kind contribu-
tions and $1,500 in loans.
Most of Walkers contribu-
tions have been for $100 or
less. Large donations have not
exceeded $400.
Community-minded philan-
Christopher Bales grew up in Josephine County and died of a drug thropist Barbara Bean gave
overdose two years ago in Portland. He was 21. Bales had multiple $200 to Walkers campaign. She
prescription drugs and heroin in his system, according to his mother, has contributed to political
candidates before, most recent-
local attorney Rebecca Peterson. We had no idea he was using hero- ly to outgoing Grants Pass
in, she said. Mayor Mike Murphys cam-
paign. She said she is selective
about whom she contributes to.
They said it Bean said she supports
Walker because she has the
The first indication I ever had that he used heroin was the officers coming
experience and the intelli-
to my office to tell me he was dead of an overdose. Rebecca Peterson, local
gence and the capacity to lis-
attorney, speaking about her son, Christopher
ten to all sides, skills that a
county commissioner needs.
According to certain addicts that have talked to us, the increase in heroin She also has budgeting experi-
(cases) is due to the increase in abuse of expensive prescription drugs. ence, which is vital.
Rafael Caso, drug crimes prosecutor for the Josephine County District Attor- Dixie Wilkes-Owens gave
neys Office
$300 to Walkers campaign,
nursery owner Edward
It becomes very expensive to relieve your cravings with pills. Heroin is Morey gave $450, and Grants
quite a bit cheaper. Jim Shames, health officer for Josephine and Jackson Pass resident Kathy Gordon
counties gave $400.
Former executive director
Recent heroin cases of the Grants Pass Gospel
Rescue Mission Keith Hecks
committee, Heck Yes for
This spring and summer, Grants Pass police worked a series of related Commissioner, has raised
heroin and theft cases: $2,885 in cash donations,
In August and September, Grants Pass police searched two homes on Oak $1,627 in loans and $25 in in-
View Drive, where they arrested three men on heroin delivery charges: kind contributions. None of
Jonathon L. Carlson, 23; Anthony M. Fortune, 26; and Kelly Calcaterra, 37. Hecks individual contributors
Carlson has skipped court and the other two have not yet been arraigned. Two have exceeded $500.
other people were cited, including a 25-year-old man for possession of Vicodin
and a 24-year-old woman for possession of Percocet, both opiate-based pain
Former Commissioner
Dwight Ellis contributed $100
killers. to Hecks campaign because I
Even after getting stabbed during a drug deal gone bad, Thomas H. think hes the best person for
Williams, 22, of Grants Pass didnt stop his dealing, according to Grants Pass the job.
police. Williams was stabbed in the throat May 23 after he showed up outside Ellis worked with Heck
the Highland Market to sell opiate-based prescription pills to the man who when he served on the county
eventually stabbed him and fled, police reported. Williams later was treated Budget Committee and came
and released from Three Rivers Medical Center, only to be arrested in July at to respect him.
Motel 6 with 40 grams of heroin and a large amount of cash, according to Hes not like another candi-
police. Five other people also were arrested in the Motel 6 incident, on charges date who says you dont need
that included armed robbery, burglary and theft. to know about budgeting, Ellis
said, referring to a statement
Just made during a recent can-
killers are prescribed. Grants Pass police detective assigned didates forum. I think under-
to the Rogue Area Drug Enforcement standing finance is exactly
A gram of heroin costs about $180 team. what it takes to be a good com-
and might supply a heavy user for a missioner, especially in this
day, according to H. Ray Myers, a Turn to HEROIN, Page 8A county.
Grants Pass marketing con-
sultant Toni Webbs Committee
to Elect Toni Webb has raised
$500 in cash donations and
$4,644 in in-kind contributions.
Webb contributed $200 herself,
retired Grants Pass resident
put a store in 97502. Like the
Jim Stinebaugh gave $200, and
hundreds who poured through
donations of less than $100
the doors, they were more than
happy to have the Monrovia,
each account for the rest.
The lady is very qualified,
Calif.-based chain with more
Stinebaugh said. If shes elect-
than 380 stores in 34 states set-
ed, she would probably be one
tle for west Medfords 97501
of the most qualified commis-
address. sioners weve ever had.
Rick Alves of Cave Junction The figures reported in this
was among the long-suffering story came from contribution
Trader Joes fans who have and expenditure statements
waited for this day. He said he candidates are required to file
was surprised when he with the state.
dropped by the shopping cen- Detailed candidate finan-
ter after making an early- cial information is available on
morning drop-off at the air- the Secretary of States web-
port. site, www.sos.state.or.us/elec-
I drove by at 5 and there tions.
BOB PENNELL/Mail Tribune was no one, he said. So, I
knew it was going to be easy. Reach reporter Stacy D.
Stumbo at 541-474-3806 or
Turn to TRADER JOES, Page 2A sstumbo@thedailycourier.com